Author: Patrick Hoffman

Patrick covers the NHL for Inside The Rink. He has previously covered the league for The Ultimate Hockey Fan Cave, WTP Sports, Sportsnet.ca, Kukla’s Korner, Spector’s Hockey, NHL Network Radio blog, TheHockeyNews.com, The Fourth Period, Stan Fischler’s “The Fischler Report”, as well as a slew of others.

Photo by Gregg Forwerck/NHLI via Getty Images

The Wild Are in Trouble

It was not that long ago that the Minnesota Wild were one of the hottest teams in the NHL. At one point, the team was in the middle of a 17-game stretch where they went 12-3-2 and had points in seven of eight games. Now, the team is going through a stretch where they are […]

The Rangers Offense is Rolling

The New York Rangers are one of the hottest teams in the NHL right now. The team has points in eight straight (7-0-1), and they have won six consecutive games. As of this writing (Thursday, February 16), the team is third in the Metropolitan Division and sixth in the league with a 32-14-8 record for […]

Sabres Have a Goaltending Gem in Levi

Over the last several seasons, the Buffalo Sabres have not had good goaltending. There has been a lot of inconsistent play, soft goals allowed, poor play in front of them, and a lot of pucks behind them during the last few seasons. In fact, the team’s poor goaltending is usually one of the main reasons […]

Photo by Jeff Vinnick/NHLI via Getty Images

Trouble on Long Island

After getting off to a strong start with their new All-Star Bo Horvat, the New York Islanders have come back down to earth in a bad way. As of this writing (Wednesday, February 15), the Islanders are 27-23-7 for 61 points. They are currently one point out of the second wild-card spot, which is currently […]

How New Hockey Fans Can Develop Their Passion for the Sport

After watching the Super Bowl on Sunday and realizing just how popular the NFL truly is, I realized that we hockey fans need to figure out a way to get new fans into the greatest sport in the world – hockey. As of this moment, hockey is a niche sport. That is not a bad […]

Bobrovsky Needs to Elevate His Play for the Panthers

When the Florida Panthers signed goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky to a seven-year, $70 million contract, they thought they were getting someone who could take them to the next level and supply the kind of goaltending that Roberto Luongo did for several seasons. Thus far, Bobrovsky, 34, has yet to be truly consistent for the Panthers. Here […]

A Potential Great Career That Never Began: Alexei Cherepanov

It is always intriguing when a hockey fan thinks about what could have been with a particular prospect had things gone right. I am talking about production, reaching their potential, and being the player that the organization knew he would be when they drafted him. There have been so many highly touted prospects in the […]

Why Kevin Weekes is Comparable to John Davidson

If you are a hockey fan, then you know our sport has a ton of outstanding analysts. Guys like Eddie Olczyk, Ray Ferraro, Brian Boucher, Mike Johnson, and many more. These guys all work hard, know this sport inside and out, and they make watching a game a great learning experience, With that said, my […]

Trocheck a Great Fit on Broadway So Far

When the New York Rangers decided to let Ryan Strome, now a member of the Anaheim Ducks, walk away, fans did not know what to think. On the one hand, you had a player that played very well for the Rangers. In his three-and-a-half seasons with the franchise, he had point totals of 33, 59, […]

Supporting College Hockey

I am a hockey fan. This means that I enjoy all levels of hockey. I love youth, amateur, minor league, junior league, etc. You name it; I love it. I have recently become enamored with college hockey. Living in the great state of Connecticut, I am surrounded by a lot of excellent college hockey teams, […]